Music to Die For:
How can genre influence an artist’s life expectancy?
By: Isabella Cuéllar What do, Kurt Cobain, XXXTentacion, Pop Smoke, and Lil Peep have in common? For one, they were all very successful musicians. However there is another thing that ties them together: they have all passed away at a very young age. It’s the phenomenon that haunts the majority of all rap and rock musicians: recklessness. “Live fast, die young,” a motto that is so common amongst the music industry and seems like it’s installed in musicians’ brains the day they decide to pursue a career in music. The following article will look into the lives and causes of death of Kurt Cobain, Pop Smoke, XXXTentacion, and Lil Peep, all renowned names within their genres. So, is it possible
that an artist’s life expectancy is influenced by their genre? Kurt Cobain’s lyrics are packed with multiple auto bibliographical references through which he conveys very dark themes, existential questions, and social critiques. The cause of death of Nirvana’s lead singer has been a widely debated topic for years, amongst many theories, suicide by overdose has come up as the main reason. A more recent passing has been the one of rapper Lil Peep, who idolized Cobain and confessed he was one of the reasons he decided to do music. Just like his idol, Peep includes dreadful lyrics referencing his troubled childhood, heartbreak, rebelliousness, and existentialism in his rock-infused beats. An article by the prestigious music magazine Rolling Stone titled “Was rapper Lil Peep destined to be the next Kurt Cobain?” Proposes the following, “Are the frequent Kurt Cobain comparisons surrounding Peep — some made by the artist himself — justified?” This article makes an interesting point regarding the legacy and influence of past musicians on musicians of today. Lil Peep confessed that a lot of his music and style was inspired by Nirvana’s lead singer, to the point where he covered his songs, made many references to his lyrics in his works, and made a song about him and his lifestyle. Did he want a death like him as well? Suicide and accidental overdose are the other top two reasons for young artists’ deaths. According
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